A PROTEST will be held tomorrow (Wednesday, November 21)by a group which claims the University of York has more than £200,000 worth of investments in fossil fuel companies.

Organised by The Environment + Ethics Collective of the University of York Students’ Union (YUSU), the protest will take place alongside a day of activities to “persuade the university to divest from the fossil fuel industry,” the group said.

It claims the university has £217,000 worth of investments in fossil fuel companies as of August 2018, but the university says it has “no direct investments in fossil fuels.”

The YUSU Environment + Ethics Collective is a student-led group which campaigns for the university to follow environmentally and ethically sound policies and influences student habits to be more sustainable.

A petition against the alleged investments currently stands at more than 1,200 signatures, while an open letter opposing the investments has been signed by more than 40 academics.

The University’s Ethical Investment Policy states that:

“The University will not knowingly invest in companies whose activities include practices which directly pose a risk of serious harm to individuals or groups, or whose activities are inconsistent with the mission and values of the university.”

The signatories believe this should prevent the university from holding investments in fossil fuel companies.

Tomorrow is the National Day of Fossil Fuel Divestment, and the protest, which is taking place at 10am outside Heslington Hall, is the Collective’s first event of the day.

The protest will utilise a banner which features handprints of signatories of the petition, which the Collective organised in Freshers’ Week 2018.

From noon, an interactive stall will allow students and staff to learn about their carbon footprint. At 6,30pm a speaker roundtable will be held in P/X/001, where a panel will discuss the issue of fossil fuel divestment.

A University of York spokesperson said: “The university has no direct investments in fossil fuels and only 3.4 per cent of our total investments are in the energy sector, which includes renewables.

"The university is committed to pursuing a gradual increase in the amount of renewables it procures, as part of a practical and ethical energy policy.

“Reducing our carbon footprint remains a priority for the university and we have a number of initiatives designed to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, from increasing recycling rates to the Student Switch Off campaign.

“We are committed to sustainable development and good carbon management and we are proud of our biodiversity and position as a sustainable institution.”